Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Something I Probably Shouldn't Admit

Well OK, I wouldn't go that far... But I certainly don't dread it. It reminds me that I'm doing something real. That this process is moving forward. It's me doing my part for this team.

Now, before you all leave comments on my naivety, I know the worst is yet to come. Read the entire post first.

This whole not hating the injections thing is catching me so off guard. I hate needles. Always have. I even cringe at blood draws. But after getting ye old tramp stamp in college the first thing my grandma told me (after a 14 day straight silent treatment) was that I was never, ever allowed to cry over a shot again. And I've held true to that. It's helped my life a lot, actually. So thank you Grandma.

Anyway, I've dreaded the injections part of this process for about as long as I've wanted to be a surrogate.

So imagine my surprise at not hating it.

Each new injection type is terrifying.

First the teeny tiny Lupron (give through an insulin needle) was scary. Now I'm a pro. No bleeding, no bruising, no heavy breathing or self convincing. It's almost like popping a tylenol before bed.

Last night was our first intramuscular injection. This tiny amount of Estrogen is withdrawn from the vile with an 18 gauge needle. I'll post a pic, but just so you know... that's the size of many a body piercing needle. And there's a reason I don't have body piercings.... I could seriously drink a soda through that thing. Luckily for me, I change the needle to a 22g for injection. It's still pretty intimidating, especially considering I have to show the entire 1.5 inch thing into my hiney.

So I iced the area... said a rosary (not literally) and started my hyperventilation. Chris said it actually had him in a mild panic to watch my fear level rising. But in the end, I laid on my belly and hardly felt a thing. This morning there is a bit of sensitivity... but come on people, I shoved an inch and a half needle into deep muscle and punctured said muscle. It's SUPPOSED to hurt a little. This is totally manageable.

I have just one type of injection left to master. The big daddy progesterone in oil (PIO, Or PIA as I think I'll call it) shot. Apparently this is the one that will make me want to meet my maker, and it's a daily dose until 12 weeks preggo. And, to boot, as I am a serious left side sleeper... I'm going to have to do all shots in my right butt cheek. About a 2"x2" area. Ugh.

I did ask my case worker if she'd ever had a surrogate not be bothered by the PIO (PIA) shots. She laughed, and said no. So I know my reckoning is coming. But for now... I'm not minding my evening pin prick.